Hiking the Rim Trail

At the Lafayette Reservoir.
This time of year, things are pretty dry and the days can still get warm. It was in the upper 80's when I was out this past Sunday and after a long summer, the trails were pretty dusty, moon like in some places as you can see from the tread marks. It's only a 4.7 mile hike, but it is steep in places and with the dirt and dust, I don't recommend doing it in sandals.

The trail offers some great views of Mt. Diablo and Las Trampas Regional Park as well.

Came upon this doe but she didn't want to pose for very long. Maybe it was the time of day or the relative obscurity of the trail when compared to the more popular and paved lower trail, but only encountered a handful of other hikers and joggers on this portion of the trail.

             
 A tamer portion of the trail at the eastern side of the reservoir. The hills of Briones Regional Park are on the horizon.

And a pretty nice view of the reservoir itself. I was on the trail for three hours which made for a nice afternoon hike and mini-photo safari to a place I've frequented often, but not seen from the vantage points the Rim Trail offers.

Last Day of Summer, 2012

To commemorate the last day of summer yesterday, decided to take a hike around the Lafayette Reservoir. It turned out to be a warm day, but even so, change is in the air as evidenced by the poison oak (toxicodendron diversilobum)already turning color. There's a lot of it there, so it's best not to pet any dogs that may be on a stroll with their owners. Also a good idea to be careful when going off trail, especially once the leaves have dropped, since it's really hard to identify then and the stems and branches still contain the evil oils. Very nasty stuff if you're the least bit sensitive to it.

Poison oak aside, it was a beautiful day and walk. Even though the days are getting shorter, the light is magnificent. I could easily call this my favorite time of year.